Leap
by The Two Sides Of Fate
Summary: Inspired by a prompt at OneWord. "And when he screams it echoes on."


**Leap**

_Leap into the future. Leave everything behind. Take that blind step. Forget what you left, who you were. Leap into oblivion. –Myca Salonga_

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He couldn't stand this place anymore. He had to escape. If he stayed here any longer he was going to drown.

Taking in a deep breath, he burst into a run down the buildings side. The miserable onslaught of rain pounded against his chest and face. He pumped his legs faster, relishing the slight burn in his muscle. His soaking wet hair was plastered against his forehead, dripping water into his hollow eyes, but he ignored it.

As he ran to the buildings end, he could feel himself falling away, piece by piece. The calm beast fell first, the one with the horned mask, that stood tall and unfeeling, save for its feverish desire to protect at all costs. To protect that girl. To help her. To save her. To destroy anything that stood in the way of its mission.

His wild self fell next, a roar ripping free from its jaws, full of rage and power, thirst and pain. For a split second it threatened to consume him and he wanted nothing more than to let it. It released an unearthly scream before shattering into hundreds of tiny shards. Mask upon mask, fell and shattered against the building, each one flimsier and less detailed than the one before it.

His entire body burned but he couldn't stop now.

He felt the spirit of a sword rip away from his pale form. His power, his protection, his strength, his family. He could feel the man's gaze on his back but the man did nothing more, neither denying nor giving him freedom, simply being there with him. He didn't stop running but mourned the loss in a far off part of his mind.

He shook his head and pushed himself to go faster. Like ribbons, he felt his memories unravel from his strained body and fall away too. He didn't forget them but suddenly they didn't matter as much anymore- not these memories anyway. He only caught vague glimpses of them- his own echoing laughter, the feel of the blade gripped in his hands, the bloodlust, the anger of being treated less than human, the frustration with himself in two senses, the violent words slipping free, the hate on his reflection's face, the never ending feeling of being torn in two- but they were insignificant. It was amazing how much lighter he felt. It was almost like he was...

His breathing became more laboured. He was nearing the end of the building.

A different kind of memory began to unravel at the same time his white shihakusho seemed to come alight and burn away to black. For a few seconds, he marvelled at the contrast between his skin and the shinigami uniform before he felt another sharp tug.

Time slowed and he turned to see his reflection staring back at him, wide-eyed. A mix of emotions led predominately by confusion, danced across his tanned features. The wide brown eyes blinked against the rain. He was only half there. Transparent. Caught between dream and reality. He'd probably just been pulled from a dream, wondering how he'd come to end up in his inner world.

"Wha...what's going on?" His reflection just barely managed.

He released a slow breath, suddenly unsure. "Ichigo..."

His reflection's panic grew. "What's happening? Why're you..."

He didn't wait for Ichigo to finish speaking. He turned back toward the end of the building and fell back into a run. He heard his shinigami self call after him but he didn't turn.

His run was no longer the controlled, even pace it had been. He was stumbling a bit now. The black shihakusho had gone when he'd left his shinigami self behind. In its place was a simple white yukata.

The pieces of himself that fell as he ran were more like echoes now that would fade in the wind. With each one he felt as if he'd grown smaller, younger, though his physical form indicated no change in size or age. It was a strange sensation.

The echoes were made of voices from a past unknown to him. He listened to them all with a sense of detached pleasure. He recognized some of them as belonging to Ichigo's friends and family. Others were nothing more than the voices of ghosts come from another world entirely and speaking in languages he didn't understand. Every once in a while other sensations would come through to him; the sweet taste of chocolate, the crisp smell of spring, the feel of someone ruffling his spiked hair.

Everything had seemed so dull before, completely monochrome. Now he felt overwhelmed with colours dancing around him. He was somewhere else, outside himself. He wasn't a hollow, nor a shinigami, nor a human, nor a soldier. He wasn't even a soul. No, he was something more than that.

"Wait!"

Abruptly he was back. He was only a few feet from the edge now. Rain continued to beat down him. It seemed like it was pouring harder.

"Wait! Stop!"

He was nine years old. He was smiling so wide. He had everything he could possibly want. He was whole. He had a friend. He had a family. He was wanted. He was loved.

"Please wait!" a distant voice cried out desperately.

He took his last step at the very edge and leapt. His nine year old self's echo whispered into the air, its voice full of wonder. _"Ka-chan…"_

A feeling of sheer joy bubbled up inside him and he laughed. His hand reached out to scratch the sky. He'd reach it. At last he'd finally reach it. He'd dreamed of reaching that sky since he'd first awoken. At first he'd wanted to tear it open but he knew better now. He knew better.

His fingers stretched toward the clouds, rain beating him back. He let his eyes fall shut. He wasn't scared.

"_SHIRO!_" The voice's scream cut through the air itself. It echoed across the entire inner world, causing the windows to shudder from the sheer pain in contained.

Before Ichigo's eyes, the hollow fell.

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**Inspired by a prompt at one word. The quote was found later (also at one word). I wanted to create something abstract and, well, here it is. I might add more to this. Might make it into a sort of drabble series. I'm not sure yet, though if I do it will probably be a little disjointed or random (unlike my other, HichiIchiHime drabble series). It would explain some things…I dunno. We'll see.**

**Reviews would be nice. :)**


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